Fort Peck Tribes (Mont.) receive $200K for cleanup of Old Poplar Airport site

(Denver. Colorado—May 8, 2013) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has selected the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes as the recipients of a $200,000 Brownfields cleanup grant to remove contaminants at the Old Poplar Airport site located at 128 Airport Road in the City of Poplar. Today’s announcement is part of $62 million in EPA Brownfields funds awarded to 240 grant recipients across the nation to assess, clean up and redevelop contaminated properties.

"EPA Brownfields grants open doors by helping communities transform blighted properties into public and economic assets," said EPA acting regional administrator, Howard Cantor. "These investments will address contamination and create new opportunities for people to live, play, and do business.”

The Old Poplar Airport was used for crop dusting operations and is contaminated with pesticides and metals. Once cleanup is complete, the Tribes plan to redevelop the land into commercial space, tribal housing, and green space.

There are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated sites in the United States. Under EPA’s Brownfields program, more than 20,000 properties have been assessed, and more than 850 properties have been cleaned up. EPA’s Brownfields investments have also leveraged more than $19 billion in overall cleanup and redevelopment funding from public and private sources. On average $17.79 is leveraged for every EPA Brownfields grant dollar spent. These investments resulted in approximately 87,000 jobs nationwide. When Brownfields are addressed, nearby property values can increase 2-3 percent.